Monday, November 12, 2012

Changeling the Lost: Why You Should Never Look Behind the Campaign Curtain

CHANGELING FACTORIES?

Over four years running Changeling the Lost, I've created material and hooks other GMs might find useful. Some I've already posted (see my Changeling Round Up). This month I want to look at some of the NPCs & structures I created and how I assembled the campaign. This is sausage-making- looking at the process isn't as gratifying as seeing synthesis; but we're planning to discuss campaign creation in our podcast, so it is a good exercise.

Below is the first half of my brainstorming notes. I don't usually plot stories or sessions (though I scripted the first session a little to get the players into place). I expect like many GM's, the bulk of my prep is about developing ideas, sketching environments, and developing color for narration. Not that anything has to necessarily come to the table, but when I go to run I want to have a solid sense of place for myself. that makes it easier to riff and improvise off of the idea. I want to convey atmosphere as much as anything else. I'm guessing much below will seem like arcane babble, but there might be some gems there. I'll post the second half tomorrow and later a post looking at what actually got used from this.

WAYWARD CAMPAIGN PREP NOTES PART ONE

General Thoughts

Wayward IN/OH Town Split. Two separate cities—Indiana, Ohio—things.
MirroringàTwins.
Idea that they would have had the destiny of the Fetch

Freehold isolated from the rest of the areaà set of markers keeping
some things out and others in. Contact with the rest of the world--. Does it
get to be: idea/question if the other Changelings can come in. Maybe they hunt
down those who come in from the outside. That begs the question of how they
treat those inside.

Need to establish motivation/drive for them to “do good”
early on. A legacy left to them and perhaps at least and explanation (partial)
as to who they are and what their role is going to be. Need to right away give
them a task and a motive.

Part of the story will be about exploration and coming to
terms with their being and environment. Could handle this with a flashback
structure…trying to show that they’re together for a reason and purpose.
Perhaps the person who did that was a little over-zealous.

Age of the PCs- young adult- not out of the loop too much.
Missing together- perhaps knew each other before? I like the idea of bonding
them with a shared background- common threat early on- only after that actually
meeting with other Fey.

Question of the Fetches- some of them real people.

Location/Setting

Midwestern- I still like the split border overlap, but that
may be a little too much. Could probably get away without that set of
structures. However it does have a certain appeal of dichotomy. We’ll come back
to those ideas. Need to make up an NPC sheet.

A Lunkers analogue as a meeting place. Hunting, fish, and
bait shop with a diner counter.

Broken down and out of season fair.

Safety-Land.

Old Theater downtown

Twinning as a theme, but with a mediator: the device or the
process of change. Aelf (Fey) Twin (Fetch or Other)

Two Courts/Factions but with some twilight or in-between
characters. Dawn and Dusk Courts- absorbing some of the concepts of the
Seasonal Courts but different.

Butterflies- interesting that there isn’t a speciation of
these animals, a further division of symbolism. Caterpillar--Butterfly-- Cocoon

Fey meeting place like a day/Night Shift for the Fey. Could
work especially with the Lear-type scenario. Badge is a loop with the
Dark/Light and the Wolf.

Two Bookstores in town. The one is a remainder-type place-
the old gym type thing. What was once a small town clothing store. Old style
card tables, cutting tables, bin tables- a fabric store. Smell and dust. Some
oddness there: allergens and a slight sickly smell…the Tuesday Morning or
Goodwill of books. The other is just outside of town. Strip business. Next door
is a bait and tackle place. Grumpy, used book feel to it. No organization. But
often wondrous things (Mexican stickered editions of Travis McGee novels).
Stuck in the 1970’s.

Plot Brainstorming

The concept of Ploughman and Rust Courts. Midnight to Noon.
Noon to Midnight. What is the thematic here? Creation/Destruction.
There’s some interesting stuff in the Changeling books, bit I don’t want to
copy anything directly.

We’ll give the characters a basic false ID at the start?
Perhaps that can be something that the other Fae can offer- deepening the ID-- making it richer. The
idea of the characters being brought through & rescued and joined: essentially a desperate pledge in order to survive. This as
a means for the Deus ex Machina (DxM) character to get them through the barrier
surrounding this place.

Essentially, a great ward has been placed around this place.
It conceals the existing and pledged Changelings from the attentions of their
masters…however it doesn’t keep out other supernatural threats and it doesn’t
help the new arrivals…those essentially given over to power this working. So, the question is one of having chosen to
make a sacrifice of others to protect themselves. Because of the bargain made,
they keep themselves isolated from other Freeholds. Only a few know of this
work and the DxM guy was originally part of this. His death has meant that some
of the defense has broken down. Changeling who disguises himself as another
Changeling who died. Setting them up…?

Not too many Changelings- no more than X number? Question of
membership and status of the Courts- leaders apparently less oppositional than
the other members. So, the changeling affairs are important…but definitely
needs to have elements of other supernatural threats.

The Remade (ala Dead
and Buried)

Insanity Forces

Unquiet Dead

Carrion Demons

Perhaps a King Lear-like set of circumstances. The retired
King who is not quite as good as suggested.

Don’t want to end up recycling too much from my Vampire campaign.
Some elements can be repeated by the very nature of such games…but something
needs to change this up. The college is a good way of doing this. It breaks away from
the set-up that just echoes the Vampire campaign. Vision (should be limited)…an
institute, not a full college or University…odd list of classes day/evening.
Some strangeness ala Blake Holesey.
Role of the instructors in this. Would be good if I could get images.

NPCs: Ideas and Notes

Some of this will be determined by the kinds of PCs. Should
be at least one group left out. Should be a gang/gaggle of them on the outside.
Fairest- if PC plays one of them, reduce number present in the Freehold to give
that player room. Otherwise, they’ll end up tangled and battling them. Need to
make the society quite different from the Hunter
campaign’s presentation of them or my Vampire
campaign’s set up. Stuff of story and dramatic tension. The Lear/Ran
set up.

Broad Classes of NPC Characters

The Fey: Two Courts, plus any wanderers

Important Locals

Locals with Occult Ties

Families of the PCs

Academy Instructors

Academy Students

Other Supernaturals

Some NPCs

A King Lear-like (at first glance) patron figure who
manages the whole thing. Could actively serve as patronage master (three
offices: Rust, Blossom, and Twilight seat). Have to think about his role in all
of this.

The DxM character (dead at the beginning of the game). A
fringe person, but formerly respected by the Freehold.

The Actual Sheriff of the city. People know there’s
something wrong but can’t really identify. Not a nice guy. Something like a
Sheriff Buck character, but even more ambiguous.

Cheese-Maker and a Bookbinder (making things from random
pages of books).

We have two contradictory and important major characters-
bound by a powerful set of pledges and agreements with the Old King. While they
have a degree of loyalty, they have also sought to find a way to break free of
those bonds. The King should not be specifically addressed like that. He and
his set of close allies helped to establish the Freehold. Others have died out,
retired or have been driven into lesser positions. The DxM stood among these.

Need to have this role not be immediately apparent. He should
appear to be a dottering fellow trapped in a mythic bit- feuding siblings. The
coy one, the Court of the Wolf, is playing a dangerous game. She has apparently
separated from the patron. There’s her legendary public split fir having
offended him. In fact she’s trying to get secrets and support.

There is a certain degree of insecurity on the part of one
of the two leaders. They make a public face of being rivals, but a private push
to maintain an alliance or at least some tie in the face of what they believe
to be their father’s manipulation. One isn’t sure about this. He has a need to
be praised and he/she is the weaker link in these things. The other is stronger
but doesn’t have a complete sense or understanding of the depth of these
things. Weirdly naïve.